Korean Job Discussion Forums

thomas pars · Joined: 29 Jan 2009

after living here for a few years it has come to the point where if the option of chairs isnt availabe i take a pass on the place. Sitting on the floor is such a terrible idea. Your feet/legs almost always fall asleep. You are hunched awkwardly over the table which is never close enough to you. And if that weren't bad wnough you almost always end up with gochu jang landing somewhere on your clothes.

Steelrails · Joined: 12 Mar 2009 Location: Earth, Solar System

If you are unable to sit on the floor without pain it is a sign that you need more exercise and stretching.

Unless you have pins in your knees or something.

I hate sitting on the floor, but I know that that discomfort is because of my lack of exercise. Also the best restaurants have floor seating. Gotta suck it up.
I always go for a wall seat though.

I really like the style I've seen at some restaurants where it feels like floor seating but your legs go into the ground. Best of both worlds.

thegadfly · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

Sitting with your legs straight out in front of you after the meal is pretty common, even among Koreans (the Korean men in the group would usually do so). Sitting "side-saddle," with both knees to one side, both feet to the other, and sitting more on one side's hip/butt is something I see Korean women do (I can't do it -- dunno if it is a male thing, or a thing women with skirts do at sit-on-the-floor restaurants.

Personally, I have never had a problem with it -- I can out-sit (cross-legged) the Koreans I am with -- they start whacking their legs with fists long before I get sore...but I can't sit with my legs straight out in front of me.

Back to the wall is a good idea, and even better if you can get a wall that makes a right angle to the table -- you can turn sort of sideways, put your legs out, and lean back... unless it is very cramped space.

jiberish · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Location: The Carribean Bay Wrestler

My wife and her family laugh at the lack of leg flexibility I have Sad

beercanman · Joined: 16 May 2009

Stand up and stretch every 10 mins or so.

redaxe · Joined: 01 Dec 2008

Stalin84 · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Location: Haebangchon, Seoul

I don't mind it if I get a wall seat. My co-teachers know this yet they still insist on having me sit on the outside (the inside aisle against the wall is given to the women). *Sigh*

My legs fall asleep and I have to constantly shift them around.

proustme · Joined: 13 Jun 2009 Location: Nowon-gu

True.

beercanman · Joined: 16 May 2009

redaxe · Joined: 01 Dec 2008

hellofaniceguy · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: On your computer screen!

wawawawonder · Joined: 30 Mar 2008

Thanks for any and all tips, people.

Whoever said it comes down to being in shape or out of shape is probably right. If I can't do it without a lot of pain, it is probably a sign I'm not as flexible as I should be.

Someone wondered what the problem is. I don't know- maybe you're not quite as big as I am. I'm 6' 5" and big. Of course Korean women find it easier to get their six-inch-shorter and half-as-thick pins under the table without discomfort. The truth is there's not really much I can do about that.

Actually, maybe there is! Eureka! I'm gonna take four equal-sized books with me every time and place one under each leg. Brilliant.

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:42 am Post subject:

Sit next to the wall or near the tables end so you can stretch out your legs.

Or do the hellofaniceguy routine and DEMAND restaurants that offer chairs only.

Whatever works for you.

Personally, I got used to sitting on the floor to eat. Flexibility is something that can be developed and there are ways to sit to alleviate the disconfort.

Also, some of the better joints are places where you sit on the floor. In Busan anyway.